The Kingdoms

And my first read of June was A SUCCESS! This time-traveling novel deals with the consequences of time travel, has the best characters, cute romance, good rep, and a plot to die for! Pulley writes an intricate yet not too complicated - and far too fun - novel that I devoured in a few sittings.

I was really excited for this book. Pulley's books are almost always much more about the character than about the plot until the very end when all is explained. But this time it was in a bad way. It was so very confusing and I didn't understand about 70% of this book. It was so very slow if I wasn't trying to reach a reading goal this month I would perhaps not have finished it at all. 

I loved the characters so much especially Kite was amazing and his relationship with Joe was great to read about but the plot was just not it. To many politics that I didn't understand and I feel were not really explained. Perhaps because it is so based on history that no in-depth explanation seems needed. If you read a fantasy and everything is made up the politics are explained in full and I far prefer that. Mostly because I know nothing about any history ever. 

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I did in parts. The first half before Joe travels back in time and it follows his journey up to the lighthouse in Scotland, it was really enjoyable to see how much different this timeline was compared to our own.

However, once Joe traveled back in time, I felt the story had lost its legs. It became too focused on the relationship between Joe and Kite which had far too much tension for too long to make the rest of the book truly interesting. It was pretty obvious to me at least that Joe was actually Gem all along but that wasn't revealed until the final part of the book. The way the two treated each other never really made sense to me, especially Kite in the long run knowing full well who Joe really was.

However, when the narrative wasn't focused on the relationship between the two it was quite enjoyable. The final part, part VI, was very entertaining as Joe finally returns home, and Kite finds him again in the future. Things have changed, and Joe slowly begins to notice the changes around him.

All in all the book was good, I enjoyed it and intend to read more of Natasha Pulley in the future, however, I don't know if I can recommend this out right.

Enjoyable tale through history with an original take on time travel but it was stretched out a bit too long and had predictable revelations.

For more of my reviews, check out my blog.

The Kingdoms has been recommended to me about a million times over as a book that I would very much enjoy. It's got the male x male romance, it's got time travel, it's got historical events. All things I'm extremely fond of. So why didn't The Kingdoms work for me as much as I wanted it to?

One — I think I read it way too fast. This is a known problem for me, because I tend to zoom through a book and not savor it. I think if I had savored this one a little, I wouldn't feel so entirely lost. I was having a great time with The Kingdoms until about 80% of the way through, and then I was LOST. I mean, I have no idea what was going on. I think perhaps if I do a reread I would catch things a little better, and maybe understand what was going on with the time-travel.

SPOILER-FILLED discussion on my confusion under the cut. Seriously, do not read if you haven't read this book.

So by the end of the novel, there are THREE timelines? How do none of these result in a paradox? Or do they? I am so very confused. The original Joe we start the novel with was Jem, right? And when he “wakes” up on the train, he ends up as a slave, taking the place of whatever original Joe started in that timeline. Where does Jem come from, then? And then where do Kite and Joe go at the end of the book? To Kite's original timeline? SOMEONE PLEASE WALK ME THROUGH THIS.

Another problem I had with The Kingdoms is that I really didn't feel the romance between the two leads at all. They had chemistry together, sure, but there was no real...longing until the very end of the book. I didn't feel romantic love between them for a long, long time in this book, and when I did it felt very out of nowhere? Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way. Who knows.

I did, however, enjoy seeing the historical elements of this book. Watching naval battles through Joe's eyes was horrifying. The Napoleonic Wars happen right there on page, and the descriptions are both macabre and terrifying. It's all really well done.

I love time-travel books, and I love when they include love in them, but The Kingdoms — as of my first read — has left me wanting some clarity. I'm not giving up on this book, though. I do plan to reread it and give it another go.

Wow, that was such a fascinating read! I've thoroughly enjoyed it, although it took a good deal of concentration to follow what was going on!

I'm really going to miss this book and the characters in it! It was so different to the kind of books I normally read!

Thank you to PH and Natasha for the chance to read this.

i spent yesterday reading the last half of this book and felt like i was going a little bit insane with how much i was ACHING. i love a time travel plot, i love an amnesia plot, i love yearning, i love how painful and harrowing and touching this story was. every minute i have spent thinking about this book since finishing it has made me want to start a reread immediately. so good

Intriguing, compulsive read with a interesting twist on time travel and alternate realities. Perfect for summer.